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The Roughest Berry on the Rudest Hedge

Another recipe, this time for an alcoholic, holiday-themed shot. It’s low carb(ish), as it has no added sugar (and, incidentally, no artificial sweetener). I’m not saying you should throw back fifty of these and claim they’re ‘healthy’, but there’s nothing in it that I couldn’t eat on my regular low-carb high-fat diet (LCHF).

Heart of the Grinch

So called because it’s a little sour, a little bitter, a lot prickly, and may well grow on you.

Bring vinegar to a boil over medium heat (5/10). Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low (3/10) and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours (for me, anyway) or until reduced to 1/2 cup.

I poured it from the pan into a Pyrex measuring glass and then poured it back if it wasn’t done yet.

When it’s down to 1/2 cup, leave in Pyrex and let cool a little, maybe 5 minutes.

Add cocoa powder. Mix in thoroughly. I use a milk frother (the little battery-operated whisk-y thing my dear mother got me and which I use for everything).

Raspberry Reduction

Wha’d’ya put in it?

2 cups raspberries

1/2 cup water (maybe less would need less time?)

pinch salt

How d’ya do it?

Dump all ingredients into a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Smash the dickens out of the raspberries and reduce heat to medium-low.

Boil for, oh, 30 minutes or so, transfer to another container (Pyrex glass measuring cup?) and then strain the mixture through a fine sieve back into the pot. Mash the pulp into the sieve to get as much of the liquid into the pot as possible.

Return to medium-low heat. I set the sieve back over the measuring cup and let it continue to drain for another 5 minutes or so.

Discard pulp (or reserve for a raspberry-chocolate cake if you’re decadent) and strain liquid into measuring cup. Clean out pot. Strain again back into pot. (I’m just trying to get all the seeds out.

Return to heat for a short time, maybe 5 minutes.

It’ll thicken a little as it cools, but I’m fine with it being pretty liquidy for this purpose. You could probably simmer it longer or add less water at the beginning if you want it to be syrupy.